Stafford from keeping the Detroit Lions’ playoff hopes alive last weekend.Stafford still isn’t 100 percent but the Lions will need their quarterback to continue carrying a heavy load when they host the NFC North rival Chicago Bears on Saturday.Stafford completed 36 of his 44 passes for 381 yards in a 24-21 victory at Tampa Bay on Sunday despite the injury he suffered the previous week in Baltimore. With an almost non-existent running game Dan Hampton Jersey , the Lions don’t have much choice but to have Stafford throw on most downs.Stafford won’t complain about a rushing attack that averages a league-low 76.3 yards per game.“I just want to win,” he said. “If we have to throw it a bunch of times to do that, I’m all for it. I love throwing the ball.”The injury didn’t hinder him last week and Stafford doubts it will be a factor against the Bears.“It’s getting better,” he said. “I’m spending a lot of time in the training room to feel as good as I can.”Detroit (7-6) probably needs to win out to have any chance of reaching the playoffs for the second straight season. Chicago (4-9) is only playing for pride at this point, but that was enough motivation to snap a five-game losing streak at Cincinnati last week. The Bears dominated the Bengals 33-7.The Lions barely escaped Chicago with a 27-24 victory last month, requiring Matt Prater’s 52-yard field goal with 3:27 remaining. The Bears missed a field goal in the closing seconds.“You look at the performance they had last week, they’re hitting their stride,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “They’re running the ball extremely well. They ran for 222 yards against us. And (Bears rookie Mitch Trubisky) is also throwing the ball well. Trubisky’s really coming along. The record means nothing in this league.”Stafford passed for 299 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting while completing passes to eight different receivers. He connected with eight pass catchers once again in Tampa http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-brian-urlacher-jersey , with four players recording 64 or more receiving yards.“I just try to throw it to the open guy,” he said. “We have a bunch of targets on our team, guys who can make plays in their own way. I think that’s when we’re at our best. I’ve always said we’re at our best when we’re spreading the ball around and the defense is not able to key in on one guy.”Stafford will likely have to work behind a makeshift line. Center Travis Swanson is in the league’s concussion protocol, while guard T.J. Lang (foot) and tackle Rick Wagner (ankle) missed the first two days of practice. The Lions are hopeful that running back Ameer Abdullah (neck), will return after a two-game absence, as well as top kick returner Jamal Agnew (knee), who has missed three consecutive games.Trubisky is coming off arguably his best outing of the season. He completed 25 of 32 passes for 271 yards against the Bengals while passing for one touchdown and running for another.“I just feel like I’m getting better every week,” he said. “I don’t know about specific areas. All I’m worried about is winning and getting better each day. It all starts with leadership Womens Leonard Floyd Jersey , coming into the building, working hard and making sure I’m preparing the right way.”Trubisky connected on 18 of 30 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting but also lost a fumble.“Last time, there were a couple times where penalties got us and that one turnover, so we’re just going to take care of the football and play our game and hope we can take all the positives from the last game (against Cincinnati),” he said.Trubisky feels a “positive vibe” around the team. He’s also got a workhorse running back in Jordan Howard, who powered for 147 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati.“Even though our win-loss record isn’t where we want it to be, we’re just trying to finish out strong,” he said. “It starts every day in practice and it starts this Saturday against Detroit.”Defensive lineman Eddie Goldman could return after missing last week’s game with a hip injury. CHICAGO (AP)Organized tackle football would be banned for Illinois children younger than 12 years old under a bill unveiled Thursday. The Dave Duerson Act to Prevent CTE is named for the Chicago Bears defensive back who was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy after he killed himself at the age of 50. Duerson shot himself in the chest so his brain could be studied for signs of the disease that has been linked to concussions or repeated head trauma. ”When my father tragically took his own life Eric Kush Jersey , he donated his brain to science in hopes of being part of the solution,” said Tregg Duerson, who like his father played football at Notre Dame. ”Thanks to increased attention and research on brain trauma, we know that part of the solution is to guard young children’s developing brains from the risks of tackle football,” Tregg Duerson said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press in advance of the announcement. ”This bill honors my family’s hopes and my father’s legacy to protect future athletes and the future of football.” State Rep. Carol Sente, a Democrat from Vernon Hills, announced the proposal at a news conference Thursday along with Chris Nowinski http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-roquan-smith-jersey , the head of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. Also in attendance were former Bears players Mike Adamle and Otis Wilson – a teammate of Dave Duerson’s on the 1985 championship team – and Liz Nicholson, the wife of former Cleveland Brown Gerry Sullivan, who has sued the NFL over its handling of concussions. ”We all want kids to have fun playing football and to learn to play the game the right way early on,” Sente said in a statement. ”But the overwhelming data and powerful stories of our supporters here today show the risks of playing tackle football before turning 12 just aren’t worth it.” Wilson said he hasn’t had any CTE symptoms but he plans to donate his brain to research. ”I don’t need it where I’m going so might as well be able to help the process,” he said. ”There are a lot of individuals that have this issue and the more research that’s being done, hopefully we can have something to combat it.” CTE is a degenerative disease known to cause memory loss, violent moods and other cognitive difficulties in football players, members of the military and others who have endured repeated head trauma. It can only be diagnosed after death. Researchers believe the severity of the symptoms is increased for those who began playing football at a younger age. After years of denials Womens Eddie Goldman Jersey , the NFL has acknowledged a link between head blows and brain disease and agreed in 2015 to a $1 billion settlement with former players. The Illinois bill is similar to a proposal in New York, and Nowinski said lawmakers in at least one other state are working to raise the age at which children begin playing tackle football. He said studies have shown that starting tackle football before the age of 12 can lead to great neurological impairment later in life. ”This isn’t about an act to ban tackle football,” Nowinski said. ”This is about an act to prevent children from being hit in the head hundreds of times through sports each season.” — Golen reported from Boston.